News Information and Media Site: Nightly Rundown: Mike Johnson re-elected House speaker; Federal agencies warn of copycat attacks; Major 1,500-mile winter storm

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By Dan Donahue

Friday, January 03, 2025

Good Friday afternoon. Mike Johnson has been re-elected House speaker after a dramatic vote, federal agencies are warning of copycat attacks after the New Orleans rampage, and a massive storm is set to deliver snow and rain across 1,500 miles of the country.

Here is what's in our Nightly Rundown.

Mike Johnson re-elected House speaker after two Republicans switch votes

Rep. Mike Johnson has been re-elected as House speaker on the first ballot after he initially appeared headed for defeat.

Three Republicans cast their votes against Johnson at first, but two later switched the votes to support him.

With the GOP's razor-thin majority in the House, Johnson could only afford to lose one Republican vote to keep his gavel.

Far-right Republicans have criticized Johnson's leadership after he struck spending deals to keep the government open and to supply aid to Ukraine, but he got a boost earlier this week when President-elect Donald Trump endorsed him.

Federal agencies warn of copycats after terror attack in New Orleans

Federal law enforcement agencies are concerned about copycat vehicle attacks after the terrorist rampage in New Orleans on New Year's Day, according to documents reviewed by NBC News.

Vehicle ramming attacks remain a highly viable option for terrorists, and it's possible that others could try to emulate these types of attacks, according to the assessment by law enforcement.

The warning comes a day after the FBI said the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran from Texas, was "100% inspired" by ISIS to plow a pickup into the crowd on Bourbon Street and kill 14 people.

The FBI has returned today to Jabbar's Houston home, where they are conducting a law enforcement activity, the bureau's Houston office confirmed to NBC News.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to New Orleans on Monday to meet with families of the victims and community members, the White House said.

Investigators searching for motive in Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Vegas hotel

Police are scouring for clues as to the motive in the intentional explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The FBI and Las Vegas police on Thursday said they believe the driver found dead from a gunshot wound in the vehicle was Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, but they are awaiting DNA confirmation.

Days before the explosion, Livelsberger sent his ex-girlfriend texts out of the blue, saying things like "I rented a Tesla Cybertruck. It's the s---," and "I feel like Batman or halo," according to messages she shared with the Denver Gazette.

Livelsberger "loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American," his uncle told The Independent.

Major cross-country winter storm to bring snow and rain for 1,500 miles

We are tracking a large and potentially dangerous winter storm set to sweep 1,500 miles across the country from the Rockies to the Mid-Atlantic beginning Saturday.

More than 45 million people are under winter alerts, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Columbus.

Snowfall totals could reach 6-12 inches along much of the I-70 corridor, with accumulating snow likely extending as far east as Washington, D.C., by Sunday night.

By Monday, the storm could bring an inch or two of snow to New York City while parts of the Jersey Shore could get 3 to 5 inches.

What else we're watching:

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling for alcoholic drinks to carry cancer warning labels like cigarettes.

President Joe Biden has blocked the $15 billion sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese company Nippon Steel.

More than 20 family members of Lyle and Erik Menendez are meeting with the new district attorney in Los Angeles County as they push for the brothers to be resentenced for the murders of their parents, the family-led Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition said in a statement.

Team USA Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested in Miami Beach for alleged police battery and other charges in an incident that was captured on bodycam.

What is this massive, 1,100-pound piece of space junk that fell from the sky onto a village in Kenya?

Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app.